Lewis Benedetti: Gippsland bushy details his passion for training horses and brumbies

Driven by a deep devotion to horses, Gippsland bushman Lewis Benedetti has spent more than a decade nurturing hundreds of Victoria’s brumbies.

Gippsland horseman Lewis Benedetti’s passion for horses runs so deep he finds it hard to describe with words.

Mr Benedetti has devoted his energy to scaling the northeast Gippsland mountains, taming and rehoming hundreds of Victoria’s brumbies.

“It is hard to describe, it is just in your blood,” he said.

“Since I was a young kid I have always wanted to catch them and I don’t know, it is just part of who you are.

“You just love doing it.”

Mr Benedetti has called northeast Gippsland home for his entire life, growing on a property at Buchan South before purchasing his own farm just outside of Bairnsdale.

His devotion to horses started at a young age, leading to him working as a racehorse trainer for some of the sport’s biggest names in one of his first jobs after finishing school.

The now retired horse trainer worked with the likes of Gai Waterhouse and Steve Jefferys, preparing some of their finest chargers.

In his spare time,

When Mr Benedetti was about 18, he started catching some of Victoria’s Brumbies to train and then rehome them in his spare time.

Bairnsdale horseman Lewis Benedetti with his horse Assassin, in bushland outside of Cobberas. Picture: Zoe Phillips

“I’m not sure how many I’ve caught over time, but it would definitely be in the hundreds,” he said.

“I had a pretty good mentor who taught me how to catch wild horses.

“I think a lot of people think wild horses aren’t trainable, but it really hits home because they are, you’ve just got to know how to do it.”

Mr Benedetti was dedicated to rehoming the brumbies to give them another chance at life.

After Mr Benedetti has spent time training the brumbies he sells them to racing stables who use them as lead ponies while some families purchase them as pets.

“I do it to give them a better future,” he said.

Mr Benedetti and Assassin in the northeast Gippsland snow. Picture: Zoe Phillips

“Once I catch them I take them to my training facility out of Bairnsdale and educate them.

“One winter for example I sold 22 brumbies to different homes.”

“It is hard to explain, but I think one of the main reasons I do it is because you can have all the money in the world, but the feeling you get after putting your time and effort in to training them is something money can’t buy.”

Earlier this year Parks Victoria confirmed it intended to eradicate all 500 brumbies in the Barmah State Forest and would soon begin ground shooting another 5000 in the Alpine National Park.

Last year a Parks Victoria spokeswoman said “the high numbers of feral horses in the Alpine areas continue to cause damage to the unique Australian Alps.”

A survey of brumby abundance across the Australian Alps found numbers had doubled in five years, from 4316 in 2014 to 8513 in 2019.

Ahead of the November state election the Victoria’s Liberal-Nationals have promised to halt the eradication of brumbies, using rehoming and veterinary methods if elected.